𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐌'𝐒 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑

ᴊᴜʟʏ 10

ᴊᴜʟʏ 10, 2023

"Pyramid" by Frank Ocean played loudly in Trin's room as she stroked the brush along the canvas. She was doing what she did best again. She was in her own world, half naked, happier than she had ever been in a long time.

Today, she was celebrating her mother's birthday. And today, she wouldn't do it in mournful silence. She would do it how her mother wished for her to. Happily.

She had spent all day painting her beautiful nubian goddess of a mother, every brush stroke filled with love and appreciation for her mom. Along with all of the lessons her mother had thought her in such the short time they had with each other.

Trina hadn't been laid to rest properly. There was no tombstone to visit, so Triniti honored her in her mind. This year, her mind was filled with freedom and memories of the fun she had with her mother.

She was in her own space where there were no limitations or criticism. Only her loud ass bestfriend that might've been on his way home from work right about now.

Trin still hadn't found work, but her side hustle was keeping her afloat. Ace was working an Amazon warehouse job and he was trying to find a trade school.

They were going to be okay.

The adult decisions they had to make weren't so hard. They could communicate with each other. They worked together.

She sang along to her music and decided to pause what she was doing in order to grab a sip from her water. But then she had to go refill her water bottle.

She opened her door and walked out of her room. She walked down the hallway to the kitchen.

As she was refilling her water bottle, she heard Ace come through the front door. "Trin!" he called for her. He always does this just to make sure she's home. But then he heard the music, so he knew.

He just kicked his shoes off by the door and walked further into the apartment. His hand were full with food and flowers for Trin.

When he walked into the kitchen, he saw her. "Wassup!" he smiled. She smiled back. Keep in mind that she was happy! She never did say much.

"How you feeling today? These for you," he said holding the flowers out to her. Her face lit up and she smiled a teethy smile. "Thank you so much, Ace," she said. He was the sweetest.

"I'm doing so good today though. I'm in a really good mood. How was your day?" she asked and grabbed a vase that she had bought from under the cabinet. She ran water into it and sat it on the counter.

"Bruh, these people be fucking trying me, but I'ma stick to it because we got shit to do. I'ma thug it out. But as soon as I get my trade, I'm outta that bitch," Ace said while grabbing a water from the fridge.

"It might get better. We never know. But I did take a little break today if that's okay. I didn't want to overwhelm myself. But I'm definitely gonna be on my shit tomorrow," Trin said when she out the flowers into the glass vase.

They were pretty sunflowers which were her favorite type of flower. Ace knew she loved sunflowers because it always something she always talked about.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Trin, you bout to start school and stuff. I don't think you should getting a job. My job and your side hustle is gon keep us afloat. And if shit ain't going as planned, we got some money left over to fall back on," he said taking his vest off.

"Ace, you shouldn't have to take care of both of us. I'm gonna get a job," Trin said. Ace gave her a look.

"Trin, don't do it," he said sternly, but not too stern. She could just tell he was serious. "Okay," she said lowly. He nodded.

"You know what I need? A damn car. My Uber driver farted today, Bruh. That shit was so stanky!" Ace shivered just thinking about it. Trin busted out laughing so hard. He laughed at her goofy laugh.

"No, for real, Trin. You laughing and I'm dead serious. That shit smelled like something died in that damn car. He trifling as fuck," Ace said making her laugh even harder.

"Oh my goodness, Ace. My stomach hurts," she said while trying catch her breath. He just smiled at her. He loved how she was just so happy. And she was so pretty.

He found his eyes wandering down along her body. She was a petite girl. And she was never the type to wear very fitting clothes. When she did, she would often cover herself up with something.

She was wearing a Skims soft smoothing t-shirt and the shorts to match. It hugged her body in all of the right places. And her glossy, glass skin stood out against the nude color of the clothing.

Her wide smile showcased her perfect white teeth and the dimples in her cheeks. And she had her long locs flowing out from the scarf she wore. Oh, the descriptions aren't enough to describe her beauty.

"Ace," she snapped her fingers in his face. Her had gotten distracted by her beauty. "You okay?" she asked once he snapped out of it.

"Yeah, my bad. I was thinking about something. It's cool," he said rubbing his eye. He couldn't believe that he had just done that.

"Oh. Okay. Do you want me to cook later? Or are we doing UberEats?" she asked. He was stuck for a minute, but he answered her. "I bought some food. You can eat it now or whatever you want to. You wanna watch one of them ghetto ass Tubi movies later?" he asked.

"Of course. They be so funny. I'ma eat later though," she said. He nodded and then walked out of the kitchen and to his bedroom.

He closed the door and went to sit on his bed. He kind of felt bad for looking at her in that way. He always tried to not to do that because it was his bestfriend. He knew he never had a chance.

When they first met, he was trying to get at her, but she didn't notice. And they ended up becoming besties. That was in 7th grade.

He had always found her attractive, but he fought his feelings because he saw that she needed a friend who would be there for her through whatever.

But now, more than ever, his attraction for her grew. She definitely didn't look the way she looked in 7th grade. She had grown into this even more beautiful young woman.

He was just attracted to everything she did. How she smelled, how she dressed, overall how she carried herself. He would never tell her though.

He shook how he felt off and went to get some lounge clothes from his closet so that he could take a shower.

He didn't know it, but Trin caught on to the vibe change. And she saw the way he was looking at her. She knew Ace found her attractive. He would always tell her how pretty she was. But she knew he would never try anything.

She found him attractive as well. His body was toned, his lips were perfect, and the way he let his hair hang in his face was so nice. He was nice to look at, but she felt the same way Ace felt.

Nothing would ever happen.
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sᴏʀʀʏ, ɪ'ᴍ sᴜᴘᴇʀ ʟᴀᴛᴇ.